Museveni Quizzes Kaijuka Over Dam

Aug 20, 2002

President Yoweri Museveni has questioned Richard Kaijuka about the suspected $10,000 deposited on his account allegedly as a bribe when he was energy minister.

By Vision Reporter President Yoweri Museveni has questioned Richard Kaijuka about the suspected $10,000 deposited on his account allegedly as a bribe when he was energy minister. Kaijuka met Museveni in Kampala on July 26 in the presence of the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Jotham Tumwesigye, and Attorney General Francis Ayume, sources said. Museveni reportedly informed Kaijuka that the matter was serious.It was reportedly agreed after the meeting that Museveni asks the World Bank to de-link the controversial $10,000 deposit from the Bujagali dam project because the two were not related. The IGG said yesterday, “Indeed, the two should be de-linked. The alleged bribe was in connection with the Karuma Falls project much earlier than Bujagali. It should not hold Bujagali. Whichever mode of communication the President may wish to use, he should tell the World Bank that Bujagali should not be held back by this issue.”Ayume only said the alleged bribe was still being investigated.Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi on July 8 wrote to the IGG requesting him to probe the matter, saying it had sparked a lot of negative publicity against the development of Bujagali power station.Kaijuka is Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank in charge of 23 English-and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. He is scheduled to become full executive director this October.Kaijuka reportedly asked the Government to defend him since the bank probe unit and the IGG had cleared him.The IGG, however, said although there was no connection between the alleged bribe and Bujagali, his office was investigating the matter.Kaijuka reportedly told Museveni the alleged bribe was made in 1999 when the AES was still finalising technical and environmental viability studies and had not started soliciting for bids to construct the Bujagali plant. He reportedly told Museveni this payment could not have been meant to make him influence the selection of bidders as implied.He denied that the Norwegian Veidekke company ever gave him a bribe. Veidekke, is through its London subsidiary, Norcil Ltd., pursuing the Karuma dam project. Sources quoted Kaijuka as saying Veidekke could not have paid him a bribe over Bujagali when they were actually not happy that the Government had decided to start with Bujagali and not Karuma.Veidekke issued a statement saying a former manager in its London subsidiary made a one-time payment of $10,000 to a Ugandan official in 1999. This was after AES made an audit of all contractors and discovered an $10,000 irregular payment made to a Ugandan public official.Kaijuka insisted the money was paid to his son Steven Kagyezi for work done in 1997/98 . It was paid by a Paul Hinks who was undertaking a Japanese-funded rural construction project in the Jinja-Nkokonjeru area. Kaijuka said he was at the time minister of planning and economic development and that Hinks was never a participant in the Bujagali project. On why the World Bank had investigated him, Kaijuka told the President the bank probe followed allegations by environmental activists that he had been bribed by AES. He reportedly said he cooperated fully and opened his accounts both local and foreign over the past four years to the World Bank’s probe unit. He was reportedly cleared by the bank that proceeded to approve funding for Bujagali. He said the current executive director, an Eritrean, had tried to undermine him. He said the officer had come to Uganda several times and tried to meet Museveni and persuade him to drop Kaijuka. His visits to Uganda coincided with the anti-Bujagali campaigns by the environmental groups. Kaijuka reportedly told Museveni the officer had written to Museveni asking Uganda to withdraw Kaijuka’s secondment.Sources said the meeting was told of how the World Bank’s President, James Wolfensohn, cautioned the executive director against the anti-Kaijuka campaign and that the officer only stopped after Kaijuka’s US attorney’s wrote to him.Kaijuka was asked about the article in the Wall Street journal of July 3, 2002 which alleged corruption in Bujagali. He reportedly said the article was meant to influence the MIGA Board that was due to discuss the political risk guarantee for Bujagali to create an impression the project was riddled with corruption. The second possible reason could have been to influence his election to become executive director, he said.Contacted for comment, Kaijuka confirmed the details of the meeting. He, however, blamed the Uganda culture of always trying to bring down their own nationals aspiring for international jobs.He said on telephone on Sunday, “I have a reputable past. I was managing director of the Uganda Commercial Bank and a minister. I started Nile Bank, all with a clean record. I should get the benefit of the doubt.”Ends

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